Reflection on John 17:20-26

 

Dropping the kids off at their school this week should have been unremarkable.  And, it was unremarkable.  It was the same as it has been for the entire year.  But, it was not the same.  It was not the same for those families who could not drop off their children, who lost their young ones to incomprehensible violence in Texas this week, and because of that reality, it was not the same for most other parents either.  Fear usually does not play a role during school drop-offs.  It did this week.

As details of that day emerge, all too familiar solutions and arguments over solutions start to heat up our commonly breathed air.  Already, just days after the tragedy, divisions between people are surfacing once again, just like they did last time, and the time before that, and the time before that…there are just too many times before…there should not be that many times before.  But, the scripture for today stops us dead in our tracks.  It stops us because we catch sight of Jesus praying intensely and purely for us all to be one.  Jesus prays to God the Father, “The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one…” 

And, so I think, “Maybe, instead of dividing again, we should at least try to be one.  Maybe, our problems lie in our completely and utter inability to be one.”

After-all, God the Father and Jesus are in complete harmony with one another because they are one with another.  God the Father dwells in Jesus and Jesus dwells in God the Father.  The love that God the Father has is the same love that Jesus has.  And, that love is the same love that Jesus gives to us.  It is a love that seeks to make us one.  In Christ Jesus we are one.

How many children would still be running and singing and playing and laughing if only the one who took their lives saw himself in their eyes?  If only he felt as if he and they were one.

But, oneness is hard.

There is a common experiment that teachers do with their students all over the country.  It is a simple experiment.  The teacher firsts asks the children, “Who likes dogs the best?”  Some of the children raise their hands.  Then the teacher asks, “Who likes cats the best?”  Some other children raise their hands.  Then the teacher asks the key question, “Why is a dog better than a cat, or a cat better than a dog?” 

It does not take a stretch of the imagination to figure out what happens next.  The classroom devolves into chaotic arguments over which animal is smarter and which one listens better, and that quickly devolves into name calling and heated words.  But, Jesus prays that we be one.

This same sort of childish division is common in the political world; in fact the political world thrives on division and hate.  Nothing draws in campaign funds better than division and hate, and we all fall for it, all the time.  But, the disheartening thing is that this sort of division even creeps into the church, into the followers of Jesus Christ.  It infiltrates us from the outsides world.

Did you know that there are over 40 Lutheran/Presbyterian denominations just in the United States alone?  This means that there is a significant amount of faithful people who agree on a lot of stuff, but just cannot seem to agree on a little bit of stuff, and the division caused by that little bit of stuff causes them to not even want to sit in the same pew.  But, Jesus prays that we be one.

And, I cannot tell you the amount of times that people have left the church because they could not get along with someone else in the church.  Sitting across the building from the other person was not enough. 

Somehow splitting from the church seems to be the only option when divisions arise.  But, Jesus prays that we be one.

You might be wondering what me refusing to forgive my neighbor has to do with the horrendous and tragic things that happen in the world, and my answer is that Jesus believes it has everything to do with it!

As Jesus faces the cross and faces the world’s rejection of him, Jesus does not pray in the gospel of John to be delivered from it all.  Instead, Jesus chooses to use some of his last prayer time on earth to pray for us.  He prays that we be one.  He prays that we might have the same love between one another as Jesus has with his Father. 

And, that leads us to think about Jesus’ prayers and teachings in other places in the Bible.  He prays that we might love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.  Jesus prays that the thief on the cross next to him be delivered into the kingdom.  Jesus prays that we be one.

And, that causes me to think about something that the German theologian Dietrich Bonheoffer said:

“Christian love draws no distinction between one enemy and another, except that the more bitter our enemy's hatred, the greater his need of love. Be his enmity political or religious, he has nothing to expect from a follower of Jesus but unqualified love. In such love there is not inner discord between the private person and official capacity. In both we are disciples of Christ, or we are not Christians at all.”

I do not know if you caught just how shocking what Dietrich had to say about this really is, but he is saying that what makes us Christians is our ability and willingness to love our enemies.  In fact, this forgiving sort of love is what draws us to Jesus Christ.  It is what draws us together in Jesus Christ.  And, if we cannot sit in the same pew with our enemies, then we cannot consider ourselves Christians at all.  Dietrich took this oneness stuff quite seriously because Jesus took it quite seriously.  Jesus prayed about it at great length.  And, maybe, just maybe the Christian’s ability to love the enemy and reach out to them is the very thing that is needed to derail the horrors of Texas and Buffalo and elsewhere.

“Be kind to unkind people, they need it the most,” is a quote that is floating around these last few days, and it holds the weight of Jesus’ most deep desire for us as God’s people: that we be one.  Even in our differences, we are one in Christ.  Even in our disagreements, we are one in Christ.  Even in our sinfulness and weirdness and social awkwardness we are one in Christ, because Christ chooses to make us one in his love. 

This world desperately needs the people of Jesus Christ to be the people of Jesus Christ.  This world desperately needs us to be one.  This world desperately needs us to love the unlovable and reach out to the outcast and scorned.  Because, a lost soul is just that: a lost soul.  They are a soul that can become so lost that they lose any sense of value placed upon life.  “Be kind to unkind people, they need it the most.”  “The more bitter our enemies hatred, the greater his need of love.”  “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”  “Be one, as we are one.”

Do you know what I love about children?  They give gifts, even to people with whom they are having problems.  There is never a lack of loving artwork gifted to you when you are around a child.  There is always a drawing of love to go along with the apology.  There is always a gift that can be given, especially to the unkind person, after-all they are the ones who need it the most.  And, that is what makes Texas so tragic, had they known, those children would have used their God given gifts of love to heal that young man with crayon drawn images of caring and love.

It is time to start taking Jesus seriously.  It is time to start loving the same way he loved us.  It is time to give an unexpected gift of grace and love to an enemy.  It is time to sit together despite our differences.  It is time to be one, because with the power and grace of Jesus Christ, is does make a difference.

Reflection on John 5:1-9

 

“Now that day was a Sabbath.”

The Bible lures our eyes and ears to that last phrase, like a candle on top of a birthday cake.  Up to the point that we hear what day this is, this seems to simply be a nice story about Jesus’ ability to heal.  But, once the mention of the Sabbath day is thrown in, it causes us to do a double take and look at the story again, because the second time around, the story seems to be more than just a healing story.  The story may actually have some importance to our own lives as we walk with Jesus Christ.

Now, before we delve into the story yet another time, I want to tell you about the first time that I remember hearing this story in church.  My childhood pastor read this story out of an old picture Bible, explaining the story as he went along.  He talked about how these five porticos, these five porches with columns, were filled with crippled, hurt, and ill people in the same way that his hometown, downtown, Chicago church housed the crippled, hurt, and ill under their marble columned porch. 

He also talked about the tragedy of the sick man who, for thirty-eight years, was never able to reach the waters in time to be healed.  You see, as the legend goes, an angel would descend on the waters, stirring up the waters, and the first person to set foot in these stirred waters would find their healing.

But, tragically, this man was unable to walk well, and others were always able to get to the waters first.  Day after day, he would see others find their healing.  Day after day, he would not be able to reach the healing waters in time.  Day after day others would simply step over him and receive what he desperately wanted.  Day after day, he failed to gain a turn at divine mercy.

I think that the telling of the story was probably the first time that I ever cried in church.  As an early elementary student, I knew what it was to not be the fastest kid in the class, not by a long shot.  I knew intimately what it meant to always be behind everyone else, and to never get the prize.  And, the fact that no one seemed to care about this poor soul touched me deeply.

But, to hear that there was one person who noticed, one person who cared, one person who healed the man even though he was not the fastest or best also touched me beyond what words can describe.  But, if I were to try and describe it, it would probably be something like “hope.”  How many impossible standards do we put on ourselves as kids to be the fastest and the smartest and the bravest, and the what-ever-est?  How many of us dreamed of the blue ribbon that we were never able to get? 

Years later, I was shocked to find out that the guy who got all the blue ribbons, who seemed to be the fastest and strongest, the guy who quarterbacked our football team in High School, that he too always felt little and weak  You see, he was never able to deliver the team to a championship.  And, the moans from the crowds at his mistakes reinforced just how small he felt.  

But here is this story where all of us who have ever felt “less-than” can clearly see that less-than, disabled guy, who would never be able to be the fastest and best, somehow got Jesus’ undivided attention.  He just got it.  No championships required.

“Jesus said to him, ‘Stand up, take your mat and walk.’  At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk.”

The story is simply beautiful.  Jesus, the shepherd by the “Sheep Gate” as the Bible locates this story in Jerusalem, is the shepherd who never forgets his sheep.  Even the invalids, the blind, the lame, and the paralyzed are not ever lost from Jesus the great shepherd of the sheep.

Now, I would like to point out one thing in the story that is so obvious that we probably do not even stop to think about it.  The man tragically tells Jesus that he has no one to put him into the pool when the water is stirred up.  He is utterly alone.  He is utterly unable to heal himself.  He cannot be healed the way he had hoped.  He cannot be healed the way he had always believed that it needed to be done.

How many times do we seek to heal ourselves in the wrong ways?  How many times to we stare at magical pools when we should be staring at Jesus Christ?  How many of us are lured by the healing we think we will find in substances, or comfort food, or any other path that seems to always lead to our destruction?  How many of us strive to find healing in the wrong things?

Notice that Jesus does not stop, pick up the man, and bring him down into the waters.  Again, this is so obvious that we probably do not even notice, but it is not in the waters where the man finds his healing and his wholeness.  It is not the pool of water that he stared at for thirty-eight years which brought him healing.  He had been staring at the wrong thing and had put his hope in the wrong thing for thirty-eight years.

Thank be to God that even when we stare at the wrong thing, Jesus still stares at us.  It is not the stirred water that heals the man, it is Jesus.

And, it was done on the Sabbath.

Again, this statement looms over everything that is happening in the story.  All of this healing happens on the Sabbath.  Jesus shows up to heal on the Sabbath.  Maybe, just maybe, the Bible is trying to impress upon the followers of Jesus Christ that there is something very essential to our lives of faith that needs to be happening on the Sabbath?

Remembering those who are invalid, and blind, and lame, and paralyzed, and ill, and unable to move forward in life seems to be an essential part of what the Sabbath is to be about.  Jesus remembers those in need on the Sabbath.  Jesus comes to them on the Sabbath.  And, Jesus heals on the Sabbath.

If I were made Pope of the entire church on earth, which would likely be a big mistake on the part of the entire church on earth, but if I were, there are two things that I definitely would make a part of the essential rituals to be done of the Sabbath.  The first would be to have a meal together that feeds anyone and everyone who seeks to be fed and gives drink to anyone and everyone who seeks to have a nourishing taste of clean, clear water.  After-all, clearly in the scriptures, Jesus feeds the five thousand and Jesus provides the water that allows us to thirst no more.  That is my first act as Pope.

But, the second essential ritual that I would enact would be the ritual inspired by this story from the Holy Scriptures: Remembering the ill, the differently-abled, and the forgotten; visiting them, praying for them, seeking healing from Jesus for them, and supporting them in any way possible.  Because, there is just something about this story of being remembered and healed that can bring a tear to the eye of even a small child.

It was on a Sabbath day that Jesus brought healing, after-all.  And, today is a Sabbath day for us Christians.  And, I do not need to be a Pope to preach this gift of Jesus to the world.  So, I ask you: who will you remember today?  Who will get a visit from you and Jesus?  Who will finally be remembered and loved?  Who will be made well because they saw Jesus and his people?

And, then they will say: “Now that day was a Sabbath!”

Reflection on John 13:31-35

 

You are put on this earth to glorify God.  Let me say that again: you are put on this earth to glorify God. 

I have to make an embarrassing admission right now, up until about three months ago I had no idea what “glorifying God” actually meant.  Here I am, a pastor for almost 20 years and I had never given a passing thought to what “giving God the glory” is all about. 

When I was 5 years old, the pastor was saying that we should “Glorify God.”  But, I was certain that our pastor was saying that we should “Horrify God.”  It is slightly different.  Now, horrifying God…as a kid I was certain that I had that one down pat.  I hoped that God had a sense of humor because I had a myriad of ways by which I could “horrify” God, the details of which I will not embarrass myself by relating to you now.

“Glorify God” I was told by my Sunday School teacher.  “Glorify.”  We do not “horrify God,” we “glorify God. 

And, in with those crushing words, my Sunday School teacher took away all the fun from church.  I never thought about “glorifying” again, until about three months ago.

About three months ago I heard a guy talking about shaping his life so that he glorified God.  The discussion sort of caught me off guard because I had always had some sort of vague idea that glorifying God was sort of like praising God.  And, it is sort of like praising God, but what this man was talking about ran so much deeper in his life than singing a couple of nice praise songs.  So, that got me to researching this idea that we were put on this earth to glorify God.  I do not know if you get excited by learning new things, but this got me excited. 

I want to share some of that excitement with you.  We are going to learn what it means to “glorify God” by talking about the CEO of Toyota, love, and bed sheets.  I know, I know, that hardly sounds like a story to be telling in church, but I assure you that you will not need to cover any innocent ears in the hearing of this sermon.

The CEO of Toyota, love, and bed sheets; first the CEO of Toyota.  In 2010 the CEO of Toyota, the grandson of the founder of the company, publicly apologized for safety issues regarding the dangerous acceleration of some Toyota produced vehicles.  Lives were lost, and the company that prided itself on quality and safety were facing an enormous recall. 

“I am deeply sorry,” the CEO expressed honestly.  This shame-filled admission was kind of striking in the business world at the time.  We are used to CEOs who try to blame someone else, or who dig in their heels and declare that there is nothing wrong when there is obviously something wrong.  So, why was this CEO so different?  Well, he explains in his own words, 

"My name is on every car. You have my personal commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to restore the trust of our customers."

And, there you have it, “My name is on every car.”  This is a matter of honor and shame.  In fact, much like the ancient world of the Bible, Japan is an honor and shame culture.  In such a culture you find your value in what others think of you.  In honor and shame cultures, one would never say, “I don’t care what others think of me,” because the only way you get value in such a culture is by what others think of you. 

More than that; all that people do and say who are considered to be under your care and supervision, (employees, slaves, children, etc.) reflects not on them, but directly on you.  The CEO did not buy cheaply produces car parts in order to grow the company quickly.  No, he had managers and assistant managers who made those fatal mistakes.  But, it is his name that is on the car, “Toyota.”  It is his grandfather who started the company.  Either the people under him give him honor, or they dishonor him.  But, it is he who has to bear the honor or the shame.

So, what does this have to do with glorifying God?  Everything!  You see, when Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once,” we could replace all of those glorifying words with the word “honor” (NRSV, John 13:31-32).  In the Greek, that actually makes a lot more sense.  In the same way that the employees of Toyota bring honor to their CEO and to his name if they do well, and shame if they do not, the same is true for Jesus, God’s Son.

But, Jesus does not bring shame to God’s name; not at all.  The Bible says that God has been “glorified,” or “shown honor” by the actions and life of Jesus Christ.  In other words, God looks like a good God because we see that God’s Son is good. 

This is what “glorifying” is all about.  It is about doing the things that God would do so that God is seen in a good light. 

So, here is the scary part: the Bible indicates that Jesus is glorified by us.  When people look at us, the followers of Jesus Christ, they get an idea of what Jesus is like.  Let me say that again.  When people look at us, the followers of Jesus Christ, they get an idea of what Jesus is like. 

And, this is where the idea of “glorifying” goes a lot deeper than coming to church and singing songs of praise to Jesus.  The Bible is putting forth this idea that when people look at you, they are hoping to see what Jesus is all about.  And, I do not know if that terrifies you, because that kind of terrifies me. 

Did the guy who almost hit me head on because he passed in a no passing zone think that it was Jesus giving him a bird like signal when he sped past?  When I forget to call someone who needs a voice of love, does the person feel like Jesus forgot to call?  Do I bring honor or shame to the name of Jesus Christ?

After-all, it is not just me who looks bad when I am less than loving; it inherently shapes people’s idea of Jesus Christ, my Lord…the one I follow.

I know plenty of people who either left the church or refuse to enter into one because they have seen the people of Jesus Christ, and the people of Jesus Christ did not seem very Jesus Christ-like.  When words of hate, and exclusion, and non-forgiveness, and refusal to welcome the sinner, and constantly putting down the people of the world are all that people hear from Christian’s lips, people just cannot see Jesus in a good and honorable light.  Jesus is not glorified by this.

We were put on this earth to glorify Jesus Christ.  And, that is where “love” comes in, because in the story we read today, Jesus is about to die on the cross and ascend into heaven.  His days of glorifying God are just about over. 

Who remains behind to continue to do the glorifying?  That is right, we remain to give honor to God, to make God look good, to represent Jesus Christ in all we do and say.  Like any good coach, Jesus gives us some clear direction before we head out:

“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (NRSV, John 13:34-35)

We give glory to Jesus Christ when we love the same way that Jesus loves us.  Jesus says to love, “just as I have loved you.”  We are to show love in the same way.  We are to be loving in the same way that Jesus is loving.  When people look at followers of Christ, they should see the shadow of Jesus Christ himself.  And, that shadow looks a lot like a cross.

Jesus loved by dying for the sinner.  Jesus loved by welcoming the other.  Jesus ate with those whom others refused to welcome.  Jesus loved unconditionally.  This is Jesus’ new commandment: to love one another in the same way that Jesus loved us.

And, when we forget how to glorify God…when we forget how to love the outsider and forget to forgive the sinner and forget to welcome those who are different than ourselves, Jesus comes with a bed sheet.  “Did he say that right?”  Yes, I did.

Well, at least Jesus comes to Peter with a bed sheet.  Jesus gives Peter this vision of a bed sheet descending from heaven with unclean animals on it.  A voice from heaven tells Peter to kill and eat the unclean animals.  Peter thinks that idea is gross and insane, in the same way that eating the family dog is gross and insane to us. 

“Here Butterscotch!  Where’s my dinner, good boy?  Oh, there’s my dinner!”

It is just plain wrong and profane!  But, God says, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.”

Then the Holy Spirit brings some gentiles to Peter who invite him to eat with them.  Peter joins these sinners because he has now heard and now understands what will bring honor to God: “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.”

And, I wonder how many times I have called someone profane and unacceptable just at the very moment when God desired that person to be called clean?  I wonder how many times I have failed to forgive as Jesus forgives me?  I wonder how many times I have failed to love just as Jesus has loved me?  I wonder how many times I have failed to glorify Jesus in what I do or say.

And, all of those questions look backward and they wallows in the mistakes of the past when Jesus does not do that.  Jesus looks forward and gives a new commandment.  “Love one another, just as I have loved you.”  Jesus is not looking backward!  Jesus is not focusing on the faults of the past!  Jesus has gone to the cross to forgive those things…to eliminate those things!   

Jesus does not come to shout at Peter for getting it all wrong for all these years.  No, Jesus gives him a bed sheet!  Jesus gives him a vision of what love is all about!  Jesus views Peter as a forgiven person who has been put on this earth to glorify God.  He just needed a little reminder of what that looks like.

So, I am reminding you today!  We are a forgiven people!  We are a loved people!  We are a people who are given new chances!  We are a people who love one another in the same way that Jesus has loved us! 

We are children of God who are set in a place of honor by the Lord to glorify the Lord.  We were put on this earth to glorify God.  We were put on this earth to bring honor to the name of Jesus Christ.  We are God’s holy people of love.  And, now is as good of time as any to start glorifying God’s name once again with love!

Reflection on John 10:22-30 (from Sunday, April 21, 2013)

“No one will snatch them out of my hand.”  There probably is not a single phrase in the entire bible that is more powerful than that.  It is a phrase that speaks to the close relationship that Jesus has with those who follow.  Jesus, our shepherd, calls out and we follow.  He knows us and we know his voice.  Where he goes, we follow.  We are never separated.  And, at no point, does Jesus lose track of us.  “No one will snatch them out of my hand.”

This is true of actual sheep by the way.  Most people are taken back by the relationship between even modern day shepherds and their sheep.  For example, when visiting Jerusalem, even today, you may see a sheep herder taking his sheep through the edge of the city, crossing at crosswalks, and the sheep stay right with him through all of the chaos of the city.  The shepherd never loses sight of them.  No one will snatch them from his hand.

And, in the ancient world where early Christians were hung on crosses, fed to loins, and stoned to death, the word from Jesus that says, “No matter what they do to you, no one will snatch you out of my hand,” is a word to which you cling with your life.  It is a word that says, “no matter what anyone does to me, I am God’s.”

I like that.  More than “like,” I need that promise, especially this week.  This week seemed to be filled with people being snatched away.  Last Friday my best friend from childhood died at the age of 46.  His death was so out of the blue that it seems as though he was snatched from us. 

And, then, my wife’s grandmother died.  She became dehydrated where she was staying, and it became too much for her to overcome.  Though she was a ripe age, it still feels like she was snatched away for no good reason. 

Then, we find out that Pastor Michael Hughes died in his sleep.  As you know, he was dedicated to the active mission of Christians in our area for many years and was a listening and comforting voice to colleagues in ministry, such as myself.  He was a good friend, and he was snatched away in the night. 

So, I need to hear this promise from Jesus Christ, that we are never snatched away from his hands.  On weeks such as this, it is a promise to which I cling.

It is a promise to which abused women cling.  “No matter how you smack me around, no matter what you force me to do, you cannot steal me from God.” 

It is a promise to which forgotten and maligned Argentine Aids patients cling. “No matter where you hide me, no matter how you try to forget me, God will not lose me.” 

It is a promise to which those who face the death of a child cling.  “My little boy may have been taken from me, but he cannot be taken from his Father and brother in heaven.”  “No one will snatch you them of my hand.”  These are incredible words of promise to those who believe and belong to Jesus’ sheep.

They are words of promise that sooth a grieving and hurting soul.  But, they are more than that.  They are also words that bring us together in Jesus Christ.  They speak to who Jesus is.  Jesus is the one who will not let go.  On this, Jesus and God the Father agree.  God is a God who will not let go.  We are bound together, as a people, as siblings of Jesus Christ, because God will not let go.  I guess that you could say that we are a people who do not let go of those around us.

And, that makes me think of Tabitha (or Dorcas in Greek).  She was a disciple of Jesus Christ who did not let go.  She was a seamstress.  She was a maker of clothes to keep people warm and protected from the elements.  And, probably most importantly, she was incredibly loving. 

Not only did she make clothes for a living, but she also made clothes so that people could live.  The Bible says that Tabitha “was devoted to good works and acts of charity.”  She was so devoted that when she died, and people could not believe that she was gone, they gathered together all the clothes that she had made, and given away through acts of love, and made a sort of memorial of cloth in her honor for everyone to see.  She was so loved that the people showed the love made with her own hands to the apostle Peter.  She was so loved that the people of her community could not bear to have her snatched out from their sight.

She was a sheep of Jesus Christ who used her wool to keep others warm.  She was a sheep of Jesus Christ who followed her shepherd and never let go of those surrounding her, especially those in need.  She was one with Jesus Christ just and Jesus is one with God the father.  And, she may have been snatched away from her community, but she was never snatched away from Jesus Christ.

Peter prays in Jesus’ name, and soon Tabitha, the devoted sheep who literally covered those around her with wool of love, sat up, very much alive, and was returned to her people.  “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand,” Jesus declares.

What if people, when they encounter the church, the siblings of Jesus Christ, felt to their very core that they could never be snatched away?  What if people felt like they were wrapped with cloth of love forever when in the presence of the siblings of Jesus Christ?  What if?

Do you remember Michael, my best friend since kindergarten, who died suddenly?  Though I have known him forever and he me, I learned something new about him over this past week.  I learned that he loved his students.  It is not that I am surprised about that.  He was a teacher of history and culture, and he loved those subjects, and I knew that he loved to teach those subjects.  But, what I did not know was how he showed his love.  He would take the time to write personal post-it notes for each student, encouraging them in their studies and encouraging them through life.  One could say that he covered people with post-it notes of love in the same way that Tabitha covered people with cloth of love, and in the same way that Jesus never forgets a single one of his sheep. 

“No one will snatch them out of my hand,”

Psychology teaches us that our actions shape our beliefs.  You heard me right.  It is not beliefs that shape our actions, but actions which shape our beliefs.  Which means that “I’ll believe it when I see it” should probably be changed to: “I’ll believe it when I do it.”

I have experienced this actually.  My care and respect for the destitute in the world was pretty much non-existent until I was forced by my pastor to visit a soup kitchen, serve food to the homeless of the city, and actually sit down with them, eat, and talk with them.  When I saw that these people had real problems and real needs, and that I had taken part in helping that day to alleviate some of those needs, then I began to believe that we need to care about the poor and the homeless. 

Belief and following are not separate things.  When we take action, when we follow, then we begin to believe.

So when Jesus says, “you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep,” this is not a condemnation.  Rather, it is an invitation.  Jesus is teaching what we already know to be true, “you cannot understand until you follow.”  It is an invitation to be a part of the sheep.  It is an invitation to be a part of this community of people who do not let others be snatched away.  It is a holy invitation into a life of wrapping people with love.  It is an invitation to do as Jesus does.  And, if you do, you will soon deeply understand the promise, “No one can snatch you out of my hand.”  And, then you will believe.  

Actions shape our beliefs.  

So, here is my challenge for you this week.  It can go one of two ways.  If you heard this text and felt left out of the sheep, or if you heard this text and it created in you a desire to do more and be more in the faith, then I urge you to do something very Christian: Do something to a neighbor or enemy that shows them they are wrapped in love.  In other words, “love your neighbor as yourself,” and you will begin to feel as if you are a member of the sheep.  After-all, you will believe it when you do it.

For others of you, if you heard this text and felt complete comfort, then I invite you to grab someone in your life who does not feel such a connection to Jesus and his sheep.  Invite them to help you with whatever you are doing this week that wraps your neighbor in love, because, they will believe it when they do it with you.

In that way, we will all be able to take comfort in Jesus’ words, “No one will snatch them out of my hand.”